FOR STARTERSThe Friars welcome second-ranked Boston College to Schneider Arena for a 7:05 p.m. showdown on Friday, Dec. 7. The game will be televised live on Cox Sports on OSN.

TALKING POINTS• Providence College and Boston College meet for the first time this season, with each team playing their last game before breaking for final exams.• The teams last met in the semifinals of the 2012 Hockey East Championship, with Boston College posting a 4-2 win at the TD Garden on March 16, 2012.• Friar goalie Jon Gillies and BC forward Johnny Gaudreau were named to Team USA’s preliminary roster for the 2013 U.S. National Junior Team, which will compete for the Junior World Championship in Ufa, Russia, starting on Dec. 26, 2012. • Boston College head coach Jerry York is trying for his record setting 925 career win.• The Friars have won seven games against ranked opposition under head coach Nate Leaman, including five wins against top-10 ranked teams (last was a 1-0 road win at #7/8 UML in game three of last season’s HEA Quarterfinals).• Offense-Defense: The Friars are giving up 2.07 goals per game (10th in the nation), while BC averages 3.62 goals per game (sixth in the nation).

SERIES HISTORYThe Friars and Eagles have met 159 times, with the Eagles leading the all-time series 105-45-12. The teams last met in the 2012 Hockey East semifinals at the TD Garden in Boston, Mass., where BC posted a 4-2 win over the Friars. It was Providence’s first appearance in the Hockey East semifinals since 2001. • The Friars last beat the Eagles on Feb. 29, 2008 with a 3-2 win at Kelley Rink.• BC has won the last 11 games versus the Friars.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES• Boston College (11-2-0, 9-2-0 Hockey East) are ranked second in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine (Dec. 2).• Head Coach Jerry York, who is in his 19th season behind the Boston College bench, enters Friday night tied with Ron Mason as college hockey’s all-time wins leader (York is 924-558-94 in 41 seasons as a head coach at Clarkson, Bowling Green and Boston College). • Last weekend, the Eagles split a home-and-home series with Boston University, with the home team winning each game. On Friday, Nov. 30, BU posted a 4-2 win before BC rebounded with a 5-2 win on Saturday, Dec. 1. • The Eagles have won 11 of their last 12 games, as the loss to BU was their first since a season-opening loss at Northeastern on Oct. 13 (3-1). • BC’s win on Saturday was keyed by a 4-for-8 showing on the power play. Bill Arnold had two goals in the win, while Kevin Hayes added three assists. At 28.6 percent, the BC power play is tied for first in the nation.• Sophomore Johnny Gaudreau leads the Eagles (and is tied for fourth in the nation) with 21 points on 10 goals and 11 assists. He has five game-winning goals on the year. • Seniors Pat Mullane (7-10-17) and Steven Whitney (7-9-16) rank second and third, respectively, in scoring for BC.• Senior Parker Milner has played the entirety of the season in the BC net, posting a 11-2-0 record to go along with a 2.15 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. He has two shutouts on the year.

THE ROAD AHEADFollowing the Boston College game, the Friars will break for final exams. Providence then closes out 2012 with a home game versus Vermont at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 20.

LAST WEEKEND: SPLIT WITH MERRIMACKThe Friars split a weekend home-and-home series with Hockey East foe Merrimack, with the road team winning each game. • On Friday night, the Friars downed the Warriors in overtime, 3-2. Senior Tim Schaller scored the game-winning goal with 37 seconds to play. • The following night, Merrimack downed the Friars at Schneider Arena, 2-1, behind a 34-save performance from Tirronen Rasumus.

GILLIES NAMED TO TEAM USA PRELIMINARY WJC ROSTEROn Tuesday, Dec. 4 , USA Hockey released the preliminary roster for its 2013 U.S. National Junior Team, which included freshman goaltender Jon Gillies.• Gillies was one of three goalies named to the team and one of three Hockey East players who made the squad, joining Boston University defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and Boston College forward John Gaudreau.• Players selected to the preliminary roster will participate in a training camp, Dec. 16-18, at the New York Rangers’ Madison Square Garden Training Center in Tarrytown, N.Y. • The camp will move to Helsinki, Finland, from Dec. 19-23 and the final 23-player U.S. National Junior Team roster will be announced by USA Hockey on Dec. 23.• The players who make the final 23-man roster will comprise the U.S. National Junior Team, which will play in the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia, Dec. 26, 2012-Jan. 5, 2013.

OVERTIME TIMSenior Tim Schaller scored the game-winning goal with 37 seconds to play in overtime to lift the Friars to a 3-2 win at Merrimack on Nov. 30.• It was Providence’s first overtime road win since Jan. 13, 2006 when the Friars won 3-2 at UMass Lowell on a Colin McDonald game winner. • It was Schaller’s fifth career game-winning goal and he became the seventh Friar to score a game winner this season.• It was also the first overtime game-winning goal scored by a Friar since Dec. 2, 2011, when Ross Mauermann’s overtime tally helped Providence down then top-ranked Merrimack, 2-1.• Schaller’s goal handed Merrimack its first home overtime loss at Lawler Arena since Halloween night in 2008, when Merrimack was defeated by Boston College.

ROAD WINSProvidence followed up a 7-0 win at Brown in the 27th annual Mayor’s Cup on Nov. 24, with an overtime win at Merrimack on Nov. 30 to give PC back-to-back road wins for the first time since sweeping a series at Alabama-Huntsville on Nov. 12-13, 2010 (W, 3-1 | W, 4-2).

GILLIES TO TERRERI: FRESHMAN SHUTOUTSJon Gillies posted his second shutout of the season with Providence’s 7-0 win over Brown on Saturday, Nov. 24 in the 27th annual Mayor’s Cup. He posted his first career shutout on Oct. 27 with a 3-0 win over Maine. With the pair of shutouts, Gillies became the first Friar goalie to post two shutouts in his freshman season in almost 30 years. Former Friar great Chris Terreri ’86 was the last freshman to do so when he blanked Alaska (8-0 on Nov. 3, 1982) and Brown (8-0 on Feb. 12, 1983) during his freshman season.

CAREER DAYS FROM HART & GILLIES RETURNS MAYOR’S CUP TO FRIARTOWNWith a 7-0 win at Brown on Nov. 24, the Friars claimed the Mayor’s Cup in outright fashion for the first time since Nov. 17, 2009 (at PC 4, Brown 3). With the win, the Friars improved to 15-9-3 in Mayor’s Cup games and to 45-44-3 all-time versus cross-town rival Brown.• Jon Gillies posted a career-high 35 saves to record his second shutout of the season (most saves by a PC goalie since Feb. 12, 2011 when Alex Beaudry posted 42 saves in a 3-3 tie at UMass).• Gillies became the first Friar goalie to post a shutout at Brown’s Meehan Auditorium. • Seven different Friars scored Providence’s seven goals versus Brown, including freshman Tom Parisi netting his first career goal (Kevin Rooney also notched an assist for his first career point).• Kevin Hart had a goal and three assists versus the Bears (his previous career high for points in a game was a two assist effort versus Merrimack last season).• The Friar power play went 3-for-7, marking the first three power-play goal game for the Friars since going 5-for-14 in a 6-1 win over then No. 1 Merrimack on Dec. 3, 2011.

HAT TRICK HEROOn Friday, Nov. 16, junior Derek Army netted his first career hat trick to lead the Friars past Northeastern, 6-2. • In addition to becoming the first Hockey East player to register a hat trick, Army became the first Friar to score three goals in a game since Tim Schaller did so on Nov. 4, 2011 (vs. Vermont). • It marked the 12th Friar hat trick since the 2000-01 season.• For his efforts, Army was named the Hockey East Association’s Athletic Republic Co-Player of the Week, it was announced by the conference on Monday, Nov. 19. • Army became the first Friar to earn Hockey East Player of the Week honors this season. Schaller was the last Providence player to earn the honor (Feb. 13, 2012).

BALANCED ATTACKNever more evident than in Providence’s 7-0 win over Brown, when seven different Friars scored, offense has come from all across the Friar lineup. Led by Ross Mauermann’s five goals, 16 different Friars have now scored at least one goal this season, which ranks tied with Boston University for second most in Hockey East (Merrimack leads with 17). • 19 Friars have at least one assist (tied for second in Hockey East).• 20 Friars have at least one point (tied for second in Hockey East).• 7 Friars have scored the Providence’s seven game-winning goals this season.

FRIAR FRESHMENThe young Friar roster includes 13 freshmen and six sophomores.• 19 of 29 players on the 2012-13 Friar roster are freshmen or sophomores (66 percent).• As of Nov. 9, the average age of all the players on the Friar roster was just over 21 years old.• The freshmen and sophomores have combined for 60 of Providence’s 111 points this season (54 percent) and have netted 27 of the team’s 40 goals (68 percent).

SIGN ‘EM UPHead coach Nate Leaman announced the signing of three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent (NLI’s) during the early signing period, including defensemen Anthony Florentino and Kyle McKenzie as well as goaltender Nick Ellis.• Florentino is a 6’2, 205-pound defenseman from West Roxbury, Mass., who plays for the South Kent School of the New England Prep School Ice Hockey Association (NEPSIHA).• McKenzie is a 6’0, 190-pound defenseman for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League (USHL) and is a native of Aston, Pa.• Ellis is a goaltender currently playing for the Des Moines Buccaneers, also of the USHL. Last season, the 6’0 goalie played for the Pomfret School in Connecticut, which also plays in the NEPSIHA. He is a native of Millersville, Md.

CENTURY MARK FOR SCHALLER & HARVEYSenior forward Tim Schaller played his 100th career game in Providence’s 3-2 win at Vermont on Nov. 3, becoming the first member of the class of 2013 to play in 100 games. Two games later, he was joined in the 100 career games played club by senior defenseman Myles Harvey (at UMass on Nov. 9). They were the 138th and 139th friars to play in 100 career games.

HOCKEY EAST YOUNG GUNSFreshman forward Mark Jankowski, along with two other Hockey East skaters, are believed to be the three youngest players in college hockey this season. Jankowski, a first round pick by the Calgary Flames in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, was born in September of 1994. The only other younger players in Hockey East are Ryan Lomberg of Maine, born in December of 1994, and Brett Pesce of New Hampshire, born in November of 1994.

FRIAR FAMILY TIESProvidence College seniors Chris Rooney and Alex Velischek as well as junior Derek Army are sons of former Friar hockey greats. • Chris Rooney is the son of former Friar, Steve Rooney. Steve scored the game-winning goal as the Friars defeated Boston College, 2-1, in double overtime in the inaugural Hockey East championship game in 1985. Steve went on to play in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens team that claimed the 1986 Stanley Cup title. (Steve is also current Friar freshman Kevin Rooney’s uncle). • Alex is the son of former Friar Randy Velischek, who was named ECAC Player of the year in 1982-83 and earned All-America honors. Randy, who helped the Friars to the 1981 ECAC championship and two NCAA Tournament appearances (1981, 1983), played 10 seasons in the NHL (509 games). • Derek is the son of former PC standout and current assistant coach of the Colorado Avalanche, Tim Army. Tim ranks first all-time in games played (151) and sixth all-time in points (179) at Providence. He earned All-America honors as he helped the Friars capture the 1985 Hockey East Tournament title and guided the team to the NCAA Championship game.

MAKING DRAFT HISTORYFreshmen Mark Jankowski and Jon Gillies were selected in the 2012 NHL Draft which took place on June 22-23 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Jankowski was picked in the first round (21st overall) by the Calgary Flames and Gillies was taken in the third round (75th overall), also by Calgary.• Jankowski is the third Friar ever to be picked in the first round and the first since 1992 when Joe Hulbig was picked 13th overall. The other Friar to be selected in the first round was Tom Fitzgerald, who was picked 17th overall in 1986. • Gillies was the first Providence goalie to be drafted since Bobby Goepfert was chosen in the sixth round (121st overall) by Pittsburgh in 2002.

SCHNEIDER ARENA RENOVATIONSBeginning in the fall of 2012, Schneider Arena will undergo extensive renovations that will include a 35,000 square foot addition, new locker rooms, a state of the art training facility and weight rooms, luxury boxes as well as new sound and video systems, a new ticket office, hall of fame and renovated coaches offices.

Schneider Arena originally opened in 1973 and was dedicated and named in memory of the late Reverend Herman D. Schneider, O.P., the founder of the Friars’ highly successful hockey program and a long-time member of the school’s faculty. Built at a cost of $1.8 million dollars in 1973, the Schneider Arena ice skating facility currently seats 3,030 comfortably for hockey games.

HARVEY COMES OUT HOTSenior assistant captain Myles Harvey, who came into the season with 13 assists in 91 career games played, posted seven assists in the first five games of the 2012-13 season. • Harvey was the only Friar to notch a point in the first five games this season and had two-assist efforts against Sacred Heart (Oct. 12) and Maine (Oct. 26). • Last season, Harvey set a career high with 10 assists on the year.• The five-game point streak was a career long mark.

GILLIES NAMED CO-ROOKIE OF THE MONTHFreshman goaltender Jon Gillies was named the Hockey East Association’s Pro Ambitions Co-Rookie of the Month for October, it was announced on Nov. 1. Gillies helped lead the Friars to a 3-2-1 record in October and posted a 1.72 goals against average and a .938 save percentage to go along with 150 saves in 347:59 of work. • Gillies started all six of the Friars’ games in October and played all but the final period of Providence’s 8-2 season-opening win over Sacred Heart (Oct. 12). Gillies did stop all 14 shots he faced in that game to earn his first career victory. • Gillies was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Week twice (Oct. 22 & 29) and also earned Hockey East Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors (Oct. 15).

PRODUCTIVE OCTOBERIncluding wins over Sacred Heart and Maine, the Friars went 3-2-1 in the month of October for their best record in the month of October since going 5-2-0 in 2009.

LAMORIELLO ENSHRINEDFormer Providence College student-athlete, hockey coach, athletics director and current New Jersey Devils President/CEO/General Manager, Lou Lamoriello, was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, Oct. 15, in a ceremony that was held at the Plaza of the Americas Atrium in Dallas, Texas.• Lamoriello was joined in the 40th U.S. Hall of Fame class by former Dallas Stars player Mike Modano and former player/current television analyst Ed Olczyk. • Steve Levy, longtime ESPN SportsCenter anchor and hockey broadcaster, served as master of ceremonies.

BOBACK HEADED TO PC HOFThe Providence College Athletic Department announced on Nov. 5 that it will induct nine members and the 1995 NCAA Champion Women’s Cross Country Team into its Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. • The 2013 inductees include former men’s hockey great Mike Boback `92. • Boback ranks fourth all-time in points at PC (201) and second in assists (128). He is one of only four PC players to register more than 200 points in his career and he was named First Team All-Hockey East in 1990 and 1992. • Boback helped lead the Friars to two NCAA appearances, including a run to the `88-89 NCAA Quarterfinals, and was a part of four 20-win seasons with the Friars.

NEWCOMERS• The 2012-13 Friar roster features 12 freshmen, a red shirt freshman and senior captain Kyle Murphy, all of whom entered the year having not played a game for the Friars. • Murphy, who practiced with the team throughout the 2011-12 season, notched his first career goal versus Sacred Heart in his return to college hockey (he previously played 17 games for Notre Dame in 2009-10). • Red shirt freshman Noel Acciari has seen his first action after sitting out last season. He recorded his first career point with an assist in the win over Sacred Heart. • Six freshmen made their Providence debuts in the win over Sacred Heart including (first career points): Mark Jankowski (2G), Steven McParland (1A), Paul de Jersey (1G, 1A), Kevin Rooney, John Gilmour (2A) and Jon Gillies (14 saves in 40:00 mins.). • Freshman Brandon Tanev then made his debut at Boston University (Oct. 13) and recorded his first goal and assist in Providence’s 3-2 win at Vermont (Nov. 2).• Freshman Tom Parisi made his debut, doing so in the second game of the weekend series at Vermont (Nov. 3).• Freshman Nick Saracino became the latest Friar to make his debut, playing his first career game versus Northeastern on Nov. 16.

OPENING ON THE OFFENSIVE• The Friars’ 8-2 season-opening win over Sacred Heart, Providence scored eight goals for the first time since posting an 8-2 win at Bowling Green on Oct. 23, 2009.• Against Sacred Heart, the Friars put 59 shots on net, the highest Providence total since reaching 61 shots on goal in a 7-2 win over SHU on Oct. 11, 2003.

FOR OPENERS• The Friars downed Sacred Heart, 8-2, in its 2012-13 season opener. • Providence is now 38-23-1 (.621) all-time in season openers, including four consecutive season-opening victories (2009-12).• The Friars improved to 38-24-0 (.613) all-time in home openers.• The Friars are 14-13-2 in Hockey East openers, including their loss at Boston University on Oct. 13.

TEAM IMPACT: KEVIN RICH JOINS THE FRIARSOn Sept. 20, the Providence College men’s hockey team welcomed its newest team member, Kevin Rich, to the squad. Joining the Friars through Team IMPACT, Rich is a seven year old from Mansfield, Mass., who has battled Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia since being diagnosed at the age of four.• Kevin, along with his parents Cara and Walter, met his new teammates for the first time on that Thursday afternoon (Sept. 20) at Schneider Arena as part of Kevin’s official “draft” onto the team.• Friar captains Tim Schaller, Kyle Murphy and Myles Harvey presented Kevin with a customized Providence College hockey jersey to welcome him to the team.• Kevin has been fighting Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, which is the most common form of leukemia found in children. He was initially diagnosed in September of 2009.• Team IMPACT is a non-profit organization created to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening illnesses. The organization strives to harness the power of teamwork by matching courageous kids with college athletic teams across the Northeast.

FRIAR NCAA DIV. I HEAD COACHING TREE• On Sept. 26, former Providence College First Team All-American Kurt Kleinendorst ’83 was named head coach of the men’s ice hockey team at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. A finalist for the 1983 Hobey Baker Award, Kleinendorst ranks fifth all-time at Providence in career points with 89 goals and 103 assists. He helped Providence to a pair of NCAA Tournaments and was the team’s leading scorer as a junior and senior. • Kleinendorst joins Rick Bennett ‘90 as alums who hold head coaching positions at NCAA Div. I schools. Bennett enters his second season behind the bench at Union College, where he replaced the departed Nate Leaman prior to last season. • Additionally, 1992 Providence College graduate and former assistant coach David Berard took over interim head coaching duties at Connecticut on Nov. 6 after Bruce Marshall took a medical leave of absence.

BEFORE THE LOCKOUT ... NHL DEALSIn July of 2012, three former Providence College stars signed new National Hockey League contracts. • Jay Leach signed a one-year, two-way contract with New Jersey. Leach played four years for Providence College from 1997-01. In his years with the Friars, Leach registered six goals and 46 assists for 52 points. Prior to signing a new deal with the Devils, Leach had played for four other NHL teams, the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lighting, Montreal Canadiens and San Jose Sharks.• Colin McDonald signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Islanders. McDonald played for the Friars from 2003-07. He recorded 43 goals and 34 assists for 77 points with the Friars. McDonald played for two other NHL teams prior to signing his new contract, the Edmonton Oilers and the Pittsburgh Penguins. In his 2011-12 season with the Penguins, McDonald scored one goal.• Jon Rheault signed with the Florida Panthers. Rheault played for Providence College from 2004-08. He recorded 56 goals and 49 assists for 105 points while playing with the Friars. Rheault played four years in the AHL before signing his contract with the Florida Panthers.